Pete Golis writes about politics and technology

Obama’s use of technology is transforming politics

Books will be written about the role of technology in the election of Barack Obama. His 2008 campaign becomes the model for all future campaigns looking to understand the power of the Internet.

Staying in contact with donors, tracking the political inclinations of voters, organizing volunteers and attendance at caucuses, connecting to young voters via Facebook and MySpace, maintaining its own reporting and Web journals – in all these ways and more, the Obama organization revolutionized campaigning.

When it came time to announce his choice as a vice presidential running mate, Obama didn’t call a press conference. He sent a text message to tens of millions of his closest friends.

Now the president-elect is moving to apply that same technology to governing, providing his administration with a direct connection to supporters and a new way of applying pressure on Congress.

At www. change.gov – click here – you can see some of this new technology on display.